WHO Joins TikTok to Conflict Coronavirus

The World Health Organization (WHO) has joined TikTok on 28th Feb, clearly showing interest in putting a stop to coronavirus misinformation, and that's leading it to online destinations it wouldn't have considered before. 

WHO’s first videos are, predictably, aimed at both reducing the risk of spreading COVID-19 and setting the record straight. In the video, Benedetta Allegranzi, technical lead of infection prevention and control, explains how you can defend yourself and others against the virus and whether or not you need a mask in the first place -- crucially, how to use a mask, the WHO stresses that you don't need a mask if you aren't experiencing symptoms.
The clips won't follow the tradition of TikTok with the latest dance tutorials or political commentary clips in terms of style, but they do appear to be getting an audience. The initial video had over 6.5 million views as of this writing and over 5585 shares, while the second had over 587.2k.
The Red Cross and UNICEF have already been active, WHO is not the first worldwide organizations to use TikTok to fight misinformation, noticed by Gizmodo. But yes, WHO went out of its way to join the social network in the first place. The reason behind joining the TikTok was not because it has a large online audience but -- it's that there are already examples of TikTok users falsely claiming to have been infected or otherwise spreading fear. TikTok said it's providing fast access to "trusted resources", in which WHO is included, to people looking for coronavirus hashtags, the WHO's presence could be crucial to providing facts.
The last couple of weeks WHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have spent in the outbreak fighting misinformation regarding the virus on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Tencent, and TikTok, according to the MIT Technology Review.
Google results are already topped by the information from WHO for search queries about the novel coronavirus. Newsfeeds are also met with messages directing them to visit government websites for information on the virus, on Facebook.
For “the best information on the novel coronavirus”, “Know the facts” and directs them to visit the CDC’s website, when they search for content related to the virus are the messages received by twitter users. The same linking thing is also done by TikTok.

By: Suvarna Gupta
Content: https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/28/21158276/coronavirus-covid19-tiktok-who-world-health-organization-protection